Kevin Hart is re-evaluating Oscars decision after Ellen DeGeneres support

Ever since Kevin Hart stepped down from hosting the Oscars there has been no word on what the Academy plans to do about the overall hosting situation. Other names have been floated, along with the concept of no one hosting at all. However, two-time host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres believes Hart should get another chance to host this year’s ceremony, and made a call to the Academy to make her case.

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Hart was on DeGeneres’ talk show, ELLEN, to spend the whole hour talking about many things, the big topic being the Oscar matter, in which Hart dropped out of hosting after past homophobic jokes of his resurfaced online. At one point in the conversation, Ellen reveals that she called the Academy to see if they would be interested in hiring him back, to which they responded his offer is still on the table.

“I called them [the Academy]. I and said, ‘Kevin’s on, I have no idea if he wants to come back and host, but what are your thoughts?’ And they were like, ‘Oh my God, we want him to host. We feel like that maybe he misunderstood or it was handled wrong or maybe we said the wrong thing but we want him to host. Whatever we can do we would be thrilled. And he should host the Oscars.’”

After DeGeneres revealed this Hart went after those who brought his past tweets back into the light, saying it “wasn’t an accident” that his tweets resurfaced one day after his gig was announced, and that is was “a malicious attack on my character, that’s an attack to end me, that’s not an attack to just stop the Oscars.”

DeGeneres supported Hart, calling those who attacked him online “haters,” who would “win” if he didn’t host the Oscars.  “You’ve already expressed that it’s not being educated on the subject, not realizing how dangerous those words are, not realizing how many kids are killed for being gay or beaten up every day,” she said. “You have grown, you have apologized, you are apologizing again right now. You’ve done it.”

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Hart, in a series of social media posts last month, expressed his feelings on the matter, saying he was not going to re-address the issue after he claimed to have apologized several times in the past – all before bowing out of the gig. After hearing Ellen’s support, he says he’s going to “evaluate” the conversation and reconsider the decision to drop out of hosting.

“Leaving here, I promise you I’m evaluating this conversation. I’m glad that I had it here, and I’m glad that it was as authentic and real as I could have hoped that it would be. So, let me assess, just to sit in this space and really think, and you and I will talk before anything else.”

After clips of the conversation began to hit the web it wasn’t long before backlash followed, with several individuals, including activist DeRay Mckesson and BuzzFeed’s Adam B. Vary, decrying DeGeneres for supporting Hart. Vary took it a step further, combing through Hart’s long-winded explanation about his apology and “attacks” on his character:

You can watch the video clips here. The Oscars are on February 24, and there is currently no host.